Research Projects

Current Research Projects

Imagine if to get to the grocery store it took you 2 hours due to an accident that you have to go around. Imagine that was every single day. What if I told you this is reality for arctic peoples, but instead of the grocery store they are having difficulties accessing traditional foods and it isn’t an accident blocking their route but instead permafrost thaw that has made their traditional routes impassible. My research combines traditional knowledge with geospatial methods to predict future permafrost thaw and assess how this will impact food security in the Sahtu region of the Northwest Territories.

​Large areas of permafrost in Canada show signs of degradation and, with the Northwest Territories (NWT) warming ~4 times faster than the global average, rates of permafrost thaw are expected to accelerate. Continued permafrost thaw will alter the structure and function of ecosystems in these regions, and the services that people derive from these ecosystems. Permafrost also provides a vital foundation for roads, buildings, and pipelines. As climate change continues, the extent of infrastructure damages as well as the costs to maintain, replace, and adapt already existing buildings are expected to increase. Similarly, within the NWT, many local indigenous subsistence harvesters express concerns that changes in environmental conditions are impeding their ability to access traditional hunting, fishing and gathering grounds. In a warming North, effective land management will require a better understanding of where and why permafrost thaw is occurring and expected to occur and decision support tools to help decide where to apply management actions.